It was bound to happen. Ever since President Trump lost the election, then proceeded to stand in front of his followers and say he would not support a peaceful transfer of power, we’ve known what was coming.
Hundreds of rioters stormed the U.S. capitol building Jan. 6, trampling barricades, smashing windows, and clashing with police to get inside. Brandishing Trump flags and MAGA memorabilia, the mob endangered the lives of dozens of congressional members inside, forcing the capitol police to evacuate lawmakers.
D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department arrested at least 13 people and confiscated about five weapons. A California woman was reportedly shot inside the capitol and died from her injuries at the hospital. And, at least three others died from “other injuries”… with reports of people falling off of balconies and ledges.
Police officers are holding them steps away from the Senate chamber, which is locked. Senators are inside. I see a few confederate flags. pic.twitter.com/YI7X7KmuUG
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 6, 2021
To make matters worse, President Trump refused to outright condemn the mob for its creation of chaos in the nation’s capital.
The mob came less than an hour into Congress’s certification of the electoral college vote. Arizona representative Paul Gosar was the first to object to his state’s electoral tally, supported by Texas senator Ted Cruz. They claimed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory was due to “massive voter fraud”, despite a lack of evidence, and federal judges throwing out every lawsuit on the matter.
President Trump has reiterated false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, with faulty machines casting votes in favor of Joe Biden, and poll workers re-scanning ballots to run up Biden’s numbers. And, in Georgia Jan. 4, instead of rallying voters for the republican senate candidates, Trump used the time to share his baseless conspiracy theories and sow distrust in the election process.
“If the liberal Democrats take the Senate and the White House, and they are not taking this White House, we’re going to fight like hell, I’ll tell you right now,” Trump said, to a cheering crowd.
These messages of violence strengthened the already charged groups of Trump loyalists, who have been making calls to disrupt the election process for months. So-called ‘MAGA Twitter’ has shared the same rhetoric as the president. Calling for an overturn of the election results despite multiple U.S. leaders and experts declaring a fair 2020 election.
The Lawmakers’ evacuation forced Congress to go into a recess and wait for police to push the mob back. D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a district-wide curfew starting at 6:00PM ET. And, the D.C. National Guard was deployed and assistance was sent from Virginia, and Maryland state police forces.
For hours, the world watched rioters climb railings and balconies, throw jabs at officers and completely halt the election process in an embarrassing display of violence. World leaders took to social media blaming the president and his leadership team for allowing the incident to grow so large.
It’s unclear what the true goal of the mob was, but outlets have reported the incident as an act of sedition.
President Trump still has not formally spoken out against the riot and continues to lie that he won the election.
Congress has vowed to certify president-elect Biden despite the setback. And republican lawmakers finally took a stand against the president with some even taking back their original call to object. It seems the imminent danger of their lives being threatened cemented the reality that Trump’s call for an overturn has gotten out of hand.
It can only be predicted that Trump will not back down until he’s forced to.